(Not Halo related) The fate of Mass Effect Andromeda

[Manu]

So, for those of you who didn`t know this: It was now announced that Mass Effect Andromeda won`t be getting any singleplayer support from now on only after five months after it`s release this march.
They just said that story related stuff will be brought to us through Multiplayer missions, novels and comics (for exapmle the fate of the quarian ark)
I know that Andromeda wasn`t a really good Mass Effect game but despite it`s obvious flaws, (facial animations, empty feeling open worlds, storywriting, Mass Effect Andromeda beeing thrown under the bus for Anthem) i enjoyed playing it and i still do.
Now i am just curios to see, what you all thought of Andromeda (what did you like, what didn`t you like, which characters did you like) and what you think what they will do with Mass Effect in the future.
I know that this post doesn`t have anything to do with Halo or Costumes/ Props but i am just sad
how EA and BioWare handled Mass Effect as a whole.
(All comments and opinions towards Andromeda are welcome but please accept that there are still people who liked it)

 

[BlazedStarbon]

This probably should've been put under the Off-Topic thread, but this news has been circulating for a while yet only officially announced to the public the other day. While it saddens me that they won't continue the game as there was still lots of potential, (Mass Effect 1 had a rough start, then people fell in love with ME2) I saw this coming since day one.

The sub-group of Bioware (Montreal team), were given full reigns of the franchise. Andromeda was supposed to be a fresh start with new characters along with a new galaxy to explore. The fact that they had a cosplayer lead the animation team with no digital art background (biggest issue here were the facial animations), and a C-team who never created a full game before, disaster was waiting to happen. The team that worked on the game only had experience with DLC for ME3 and Dragon Age Inquisition. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed playing Andromeda. While I haven't completed the campaign yet, my biggest frustration is that we're only introduced to two new species. Compare that to ME1 where the majority of our squad were aliens, it doesn't make sense that the Angara are the only ones who seem to habitat the Andromeda galaxy? I won't even start on the heavy similarities of the Kett's backstory being a carbon copy of the Collectors from Mass Effect 2...the storyline wasn't original in that retrospect.

Bioware should've supervised certain elements, but I'll give credit to the team for making solid cheesy jokes that are so cringe-worthy it's hilarious, and to flesh out Ryder's character being the polar opposite of Shepard...which is what we needed for a new franchise like Andromeda. The base story was very well put together and once the animations were corrected, it was a fairly solid game that had potential to be great. But you can't convince me that only one species habitats an entire galaxy. There's no way. Why focus on adding triple the dialogue while out on missions, rather than creating new, exciting species like the diversity we received within the first trilogy?

I'm curious to see what they produce in other media through books and graphic novels, but it saddens me that the community itself was so hateful to the point where Bioware disbanded the Montreal team from further production.These are just my personal opinions based off what I've read up on. I understand that some may not view things under the same light.

On that note, Anthem looks extremely promising.

 

[Manu]

This probably should've been put under the Off-Topic thread, but this news has been circulating for a while yet only officially announced to the public the other day. While it saddens me that they won't continue the game as there was still lots of potential, (Mass Effect 1 had a rough start, then people fell in love with ME2) I saw this coming since day one.

The sub-group of Bioware (Montreal team), were given full reigns of the franchise. Andromeda was supposed to be a fresh start with new characters along with a new galaxy to explore. The fact that they had a cosplayer lead the animation team with no digital art background (biggest issue here were the facial animations), and a C-team who never created a full game before, disaster was waiting to happen. The team that worked on the game only had experience with DLC for ME3 and Dragon Age Inquisition. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed playing Andromeda. While I haven't completed the campaign yet, my biggest frustration is that we're only introduced to two new species. Compare that to ME1 where the majority of our squad were aliens, it doesn't make sense that the Angara are the only ones who seem to habitat the Andromeda galaxy? I won't even start on the heavy similarities of the Kett's backstory being a carbon copy of the Collectors from Mass Effect 2...the storyline wasn't original in that retrospect.

Bioware should've supervised certain elements, but I'll give credit to the team for making solid cheesy jokes that are so cringe-worthy it's hilarious, and to flesh out Ryder's character being the polar opposite of Shepard...which is what we needed for a new franchise like Andromeda. The base story was very well put together and once the animations were corrected, it was a fairly solid game that had potential to be great. But you can't convince me that only one species habitats an entire galaxy. There's no way. Why focus on adding triple the dialogue while out on missions, rather than creating new, exciting species like the diversity we received within the first trilogy?

I'm curious to see what they produce in other media through books and graphic novels, but it saddens me that the community itself was so hateful to the point where Bioware disbanded the Montreal team from further production.These are just my personal opinions based off what I've read up on. I understand that some may not view things under the same light.

On that note, Anthem looks extremely promising.

I didn`t really consider that it doesn`t make sense that the Angara are the only new species in the Andromeda Galaxy (I think the Kett are not native to the Andromeda Galaxy) but now that you brought it up, it really bothers me.
Also i kinda had the feeling that many people who previously never played any Mass Effect Game hated on Andromeda just because it was "cool" at the time (if you want to call it that)
And yes, Anthem does look very promising but after learning from my past experiences with Halo 5 and For Honor i decided not to get hyped up for upcoming games anymore. But when it comes out and is actually decent im definitley gonna pick it up.

 

[TheOneWithNoName]

I didn`t really consider that it doesn`t make sense that the Angara are the only new species in the Andromeda Galaxy (I think the Kett are not native to the Andromeda Galaxy) but now that you brought it up, it really bothers me.[...Snip]

It was my understanding that the Andromeda game only took place in a small cluster in the andromeda galaxy and that future DLC and games would (key word there now) expand the andromeda universe. It is my assumption that this future planned content (that we now will never get) would include more species, the arrival of the Quarians (and their crew), and more areas. When I picked up ME:A, I expected the AI to eventually build mass relays.

Now we only have the books and comics to expand the ME:A galaxy...

 

[macktruck]

The one thing I really disliked about Mass Effect Andromeda is the lack of armor.
You bascially get 4 sets of armor and thats it. Compare that with Halo with dozens or hundreds of armor set.
A thing I never like much about any of the mass effect are the weapons They don't look real and it looks like they never put any effort into them.
Andromeda is like every other mass effect, I play through it once for the story and never again.
Andromeda is much better then Mass Effect 3 which was a slap in the face for final choices.

 

[Manu]

The one thing I really disliked about Mass Effect Andromeda is the lack of armor.
You bascially get 4 sets of armor and thats it. Compare that with Halo with dozens or hundreds of armor set.
A thing I never like much about any of the mass effect are the weapons They don't look real and it looks like they never put any effort into them.
Andromeda is like every other mass effect, I play through it once for the story and never again.
Andromeda is much better then Mass Effect 3 which was a slap in the face for final choices.

Interesting opinion. I personally think that Mass Effect 3 was better than Andromeda (Even though the ending is a letdown, it still makes me kinda sad whenever i end another playthrough of the original trilogy)
The weapon part is debateable, since there are weapons in the Mass Effect Universe which i absolutely love like the Revenant and the Carnifex but in Andromeda i don`t like the Angara, Kett and Relic weapons.
The part about Andromeda that i didn`t like was that the story was kinda... well not that interesting. I never felt that things were really threatening, i never worried about the characters (although i absolutely loved Vetra`s and Drack`s loyality missions) and the paste overall felt really slow. What really worries me, is that we never might get a Mass Effect title set in the Andromeda Galaxy, although it has a lot of potential.
That comment was longer than i originally intended.

 

[Reclaimara]

I liked the Shepard Trilogy, but I also like Andromeda a lot. Enjoyed the game A LOT and will replay it in the future again for sure.
IMO the whole hate-bandwagon was unnecessary and undeserved... that also resulted EA closing the BioWare studio... so the future of the franchise is very unsure. No idea when we'll get another game. Pity.

 

[Manu]

I liked the Shepard Trilogy, but I also like Andromeda a lot. Enjoyed the game A LOT and will replay it in the future again for sure.
IMO the whole hate-bandwagon was unnecessary and undeserved... that also resulted EA closing the BioWare studio... so the future of the franchise is very unsure. No idea when we'll get another game. Pity.

I agree with you on every point. Sure, Andromeda wasn`t as good as the Shepard triology but i still have a lot of fun playing it (about 42 hours on my current playthrough right now).
The thing that upsets me the most is that we won`t get any singleplayer DLC for Andromeda and that unsolved storylines like the fate of the quarian ark are now supposed to be concluded with comics and novels (nothing against reading, i read a lot myself but i would have liked to experienced these events on my own).
And now with BioWare Montreal being merged with EA-Motive and the other two BioWare Studios working on Anthem and the new Dragon Age game im afraid that it make take another five years (or even more) until BioWare and EA decide to give Mass Effect another go. And the worst part about this is (in my opinion) that potential upcoming Mass Effect titles might not take place in the Andromeda Galaxy since i really started liking Vetra and Drack and i want to have more adventures with them.
So to wrap up this comment i can just say that Andromeda is still fun and had a lot of potential but the negative reviews and the hate train just killed it.
But i heard that Andromedas multiplayer (which i started playing a lot since i got the Turian Havoc) is still getting supported, so maybe BioWare decides to be nice and give us a Quarian character. This is just wish thinking by me but since we got
two Batarians although we don`t have them in Andromeda, i still have hopes for a Quarian.
Don`t qoute me on that.

 

[Reclaimara]

I'm bit different - I don't like comparing game vs game. Especially here. Shepard trilogy was OUTSTANDING. But it was also product of many many years.
I rather just look at each game and see how I like it, I like every Mass Effect game.

Before Andromeda came out I was missing Shepard already and femShep's Jennifer Hale as I thought she did a marvelous job on voice acting. femShep for life!
The ME trilogy will always remain in my heart and I wish nothing more than a remaster, maybe even a remake. Anything. TAKE MY MONIES.

Mass Effect Andromeda positively surprised me on many levels. I can easier identify with Ryder as they got rid off that stupid Paragon/Renegade {Jedi/Sith} bar and now you can play more freely - either serious or funny, etc. I like it a lot more and I love Fryda Wolff as Ryder.
The only real issue I have is the character creator - seeing it as continuation this is a petty excuse for a character creator... Mass Effect 1 had WAAY more expanded creator and I'll never forgive them for this atrocity.
But this is pretty much the only real issue I have.
I love the gameplay, you can play very dynamic or more laid back... but it is more dynamic, so improved. LOVE LOVE LOVE
I love the exploration, you can just drive through the many planets - the planets look so pretty. <3 I also love how hazardous they were at the beginning and after you activated and brought back the atmosphere - they became so different, that moment when you came back to the surface. Amazed every time.

Many things feel new, but still kinda old, like seeing an older friend.

Mass effect has always been a space opera, very cheesy at multiple moments and 'space magic' is always the answer.
I'm not judging it on other levels because of that.

Also, Andromeda had many problems during development. The bugdet wasn't big - compare it to games like Witcher 3, MEAndromeda's budget was tiny. Also, they were developing the game for only 18 months. Many problems.
But overall I'm very happy with the game I got.

And yeah, it's the worst that they closed the studio and merged it. I'm looking forward to Anthem, but I want story. Campaign. I don't want Anthem to be another Failstiny.
And yes, due the hate they will no longer support the game - the single player side. No campaign DLCs, nothing. Pity.

I have tried just a little of the MEAndromeda's multiplayer. It feels very claustrophobic. Too claustrophobic.
I prefer the ME3's multiplayer so much more... I spent hundreds of hours there. Even more. Grinded all banners to get the Best of the Best banner.
The maps were better - you had bigger and smaller maps. Very different ones. There were few maps that were perfect for sniping... Smaller maps perfect for shotgun gang...
ME Andromeda? No variety, all maps quite small...
It doesn't feel as good anymore.

As for the Batarians in multiplayer - they are explained they were on the Salarian Ark as bodyguards, hence they are in Andromeda.

 

[Manu]

I'm bit different - I don't like comparing game vs game. Especially here. Shepard trilogy was OUTSTANDING. But it was also product of many many years.
I rather just look at each game and see how I like it, I like every Mass Effect game.

Before Andromeda came out I was missing Shepard already and femShep's Jennifer Hale as I thought she did a marvelous job on voice acting. femShep for life!
The ME trilogy will always remain in my heart and I wish nothing more than a remaster, maybe even a remake. Anything. TAKE MY MONIES.

Mass Effect Andromeda positively surprised me on many levels. I can easier identify with Ryder as they got rid off that stupid Paragon/Renegade {Jedi/Sith} bar and now you can play more freely - either serious or funny, etc. I like it a lot more and I love Fryda Wolff as Ryder.
The only real issue I have is the character creator - seeing it as continuation this is a petty excuse for a character creator... Mass Effect 1 had WAAY more expanded creator and I'll never forgive them for this atrocity.
But this is pretty much the only real issue I have.
I love the gameplay, you can play very dynamic or more laid back... but it is more dynamic, so improved. LOVE LOVE LOVE
I love the exploration, you can just drive through the many planets - the planets look so pretty. <3 I also love how hazardous they were at the beginning and after you activated and brought back the atmosphere - they became so different, that moment when you came back to the surface. Amazed every time.

Many things feel new, but still kinda old, like seeing an older friend.

Mass effect has always been a space opera, very cheesy at multiple moments and 'space magic' is always the answer.
I'm not judging it on other levels because of that.

Also, Andromeda had many problems during development. The bugdet wasn't big - compare it to games like Witcher 3, MEAndromeda's budget was tiny. Also, they were developing the game for only 18 months. Many problems.
But overall I'm very happy with the game I got.

And yeah, it's the worst that they closed the studio and merged it. I'm looking forward to Anthem, but I want story. Campaign. I don't want Anthem to be another Failstiny.
And yes, due the hate they will no longer support the game - the single player side. No campaign DLCs, nothing. Pity.

I have tried just a little of the MEAndromeda's multiplayer. It feels very claustrophobic. Too claustrophobic.
I prefer the ME3's multiplayer so much more... I spent hundreds of hours there. Even more. Grinded all banners to get the Best of the Best banner.
The maps were better - you had bigger and smaller maps. Very different ones. There were few maps that were perfect for sniping... Smaller maps perfect for shotgun gang...
ME Andromeda? No variety, all maps quite small...
It doesn't feel as good anymore.

As for the Batarians in multiplayer - they are explained they were on the Salarian Ark as bodyguards, hence they are in Andromeda.

i didn`t know that the Batarians where Bodyguards on the Salarian Ark. Thank you for telling me this.
Maybe we are gonna get a Quarian character once the Quarian Ark storyline is solved since the Quarians where refernced multiple times throughout Andromeda.
Again, thats just me wish thinking but for me Mass Effect isn`t complete without Quarians.

 

[Reclaimara]

Haha, personally I'm not a fan of Quarians... I could say I wish we got some Geth instead to complete the Mass Effect feel.
Demn, loved Legion so much. <3

 

[Manu]

Haha, personally I'm not a fan of Quarians... I could say I wish we got some Geth instead to complete the Mass Effect feel.
Demn, loved Legion so much. <3

Geth would be awesome too but one thing i have always wondered about what really happened to the Geth (or every other race) at the end of Mass Effect 3.
I mean which of the three (or four if you count the refusal one) is canon ?
I only started thinking about this after i picked the destroy ending in my last triology playtrough and forgot that i established peace between Geth and Quarians.
And i also realized that i basically killed EDI so yeah...
Im getting out of context here.
But maybe they could bring the Geth to Andromeda when they release the book or comic that reveals the fate of the Quarian Ark. Maybe there could be a scenario simillar to the one
one the Alarei in Mass Effect 2 where there are some Geth parts on the Quarian Ark and they somehow get reactivated. Maybe through rel-tec or something else, i don`t know i just want some of
the old species in Andromeda. And if i remember correctly, there where also Hanar, Elcor and Volus on the Quarian Ark...
Once again, it`s just a shame that BioWare cancelled all singleplayer DLCs.

 

[TheOneWithNoName]

[snip]Once again, it`s just a shame that BioWare cancelled all singleplayer DLCs.

You have to remember it's EA. Bioware has always been about the story and the experience, EA however is everyone's favorite punching bag for a reason...

 

[Reclaimara]

Of course, it's EA, not BioWare cancelling. Same as it's Microsoft the big boss and not 343i making decisions.

But I don't hold a grudge against EA. Would you do it different? They don't look at people as ME fans - more fans screamed it more loud that they hate the game than you read people saying they liked it. They screamed it louder. Also, many people rebelled even before the release that they won't buy the game because they didn't like a developer.
And more.
So, if you see such situation, TBH I am not surprised at all that they cancelled any campaign DLC.

And TBH I don't have many problems with EA. I dislike Ubisoft, Warner Bros and many others more than EA.


Manu There is no 'canon', it's only what you chose and your headcanon. You had 3 endings basically.
I chose Destroy ending, BUT my headcanon is that the Citadel AI lied and bluffed and Geth and EDI survived, it only destroyed the Reapers.
Most likely Destroy ending is nearest to "canon" ending, but this is why BioWare went so far away with Andromeda - to let it go and leave everyone with their headcanon.

Andromeda Initiative left galaxy before Mass Effect 3, where the Geth still were at war with Quarians. It's after ME2's ending, so the Heretic Geth were rewritten...
There could be some geth, sure, I wish they would sneak at least few Geth onto an Ark... I wish so hard.

Yes, there is another Ark with those remaining species on the way - meaning if it ever arrives, it'll take years.

 

[TheOneWithNoName]

Of course, it's EA, not BioWare cancelling. Same as it's Microsoft the big boss and not 343i making decisions.

But I don't hold a grudge against EA. Would you do it different? They don't look at people as ME fans - more fans screamed it more loud that they hate the game than you read people saying they liked it. They screamed it louder. Also, many people rebelled even before the release that they won't buy the game because they didn't like a developer.
And more.
So, if you see such situation, TBH I am not surprised at all that they cancelled any campaign DLC.

Ohh yeah, I totally understand why they canceled the campaign dlc, I still wish they didn't.

 

[Manu]

Of course, it's EA, not BioWare cancelling. Same as it's Microsoft the big boss and not 343i making decisions.

But I don't hold a grudge against EA. Would you do it different? They don't look at people as ME fans - more fans screamed it more loud that they hate the game than you read people saying they liked it. They screamed it louder. Also, many people rebelled even before the release that they won't buy the game because they didn't like a developer.
And more.
So, if you see such situation, TBH I am not surprised at all that they cancelled any campaign DLC.

And TBH I don't have many problems with EA. I dislike Ubisoft, Warner Bros and many others more than EA.


Manu There is no 'canon', it's only what you chose and your headcanon. You had 3 endings basically.
I chose Destroy ending, BUT my headcanon is that the Citadel AI lied and bluffed and Geth and EDI survived, it only destroyed the Reapers.
Most likely Destroy ending is nearest to "canon" ending, but this is why BioWare went so far away with Andromeda - to let it go and leave everyone with their headcanon.

Andromeda Initiative left galaxy before Mass Effect 3, where the Geth still were at war with Quarians. It's after ME2's ending, so the Heretic Geth were rewritten...
There could be some geth, sure, I wish they would sneak at least few Geth onto an Ark... I wish so hard.

Yes, there is another Ark with those remaining species on the way - meaning if it ever arrives, it'll take years.

Thank you again for clearing up the canon subject. And yes, i forgot that EA cancelled the DLC not BioWare but like you previously stated, it makes sense that EA pulled back on Andromeda after all the negativity surronding it but people treat EA like they are the pure incarnation of evil but to be honest their decisions make more sense than the recent decisions made by Ubisoft or Sony Animations (take the Emoji movie as an example).
And i am afraid that we just have to wait until they expand upon the story via the expanded universe.

 

[Reclaimara]

Only recent decisions? I remember when Ubisoft was good, it was years ago... for many years already they have fallen so low. I'm awaiting their return.
And, recently EA did many things good - SW Battlefront 2 is just an example

 

[geijin]

You can blame EA for cancelling the DLC, and ending the game, but you have to blame BioWare for how it got there. This was a tentpole blockbuster for games. And it failed to live up to that, for all the reasons you have all named. But honestly, I think EA did the right thing pulling the plug. To start with, I like the game. I'm still playing through the campaign, but it's solid. Barring the removal of the cover based combat, I really have no complaints. But I also don't have any praise for it. And I can't help but get the feeling that if ME3 had ended differently, ME:A would have never happened. We would still be talking about the great ending and waiting for the next ME game. And that taints any positive feelings I have about it. For anyone that doesn't follows her, the cosplayer Freya (who did an amazing FemShep cosplay), actually posted about having mixed feelings about the game and that it didn't have the hook that grabs you like the others did. This coming from someone who should have been a diehard fan showed that the game was never going to survive. And she posted it probably about a month after the game launched.

 

[Manu]

Only recent decisions? I remember when Ubisoft was good, it was years ago... for many years already they have fallen so low. I'm awaiting their return.
And, recently EA did many things good - SW Battlefront 2 is just an example

Maybe Ubisoft will redeem itself with Assassins Creed: Origins and yes, EA seems to be doing good with Battlefront 2 (even though im not much of a Star Wars fan) and there is Anthem coming up next year and im very excited for that game.
I guess only time will tell how things turn out but i`ll try to stay optimistic.

 

[Manu]

You can blame EA for cancelling the DLC, and ending the game, but you have to blame BioWare for how it got there. This was a tentpole blockbuster for games. And it failed to live up to that, for all the reasons you have all named. But honestly, I think EA did the right thing pulling the plug. To start with, I like the game. I'm still playing through the campaign, but it's solid. Barring the removal of the cover based combat, I really have no complaints. But I also don't have any praise for it. And I can't help but get the feeling that if ME3 had ended differently, ME:A would have never happened. We would still be talking about the great ending and waiting for the next ME game. And that taints any positive feelings I have about it. For anyone that doesn't follows her, the cosplayer Freya (who did an amazing FemShep cosplay), actually posted about having mixed feelings about the game and that it didn't have the hook that grabs you like the others did. This coming from someone who should have been a diehard fan showed that the game was never going to survive. And she posted it probably about a month after the game launched.

The whole "mixed feelings" thing is a very good point to describe my viewpoint on Andromeda. While im not entirely sure if Andromeda would have happened if Mass Effect 3s ending would have been different but thats up for debate and all opinions are wellcome. But i think if there is ever gonna be another Mass Effect game, BioWare will really have to deliver to restore the damage that has been done to the franchise. But i guess we can only hope for that.